Utility chest



April 10, 1962 B. T. ROMANEK UTILITY CHEST Filed June 20, 1960 Bernard 7. Roma/rel:

INVENTOR.

patent @riice dfi hji i? Patented Apr. 1%, 1952 37,144 Claims. (Cl;

This invention relates to an improved structurally distinct utility chest or box which is such in construction, purpose and function that it serves many and varied needs. It is such in design, both interiorly and exteriorly, that it may be advantageously employed and used as a carrying and storing case for miscellaneous tools, articles and small equipment. To these ends this novel box is portable and otherwise suitable and adapted for use by mechanics, machinists, repairmen, salesmen, anglers and others who, upon using it, will find it to be practical and efficient.

In addition to the above the herein disclosed box may be satisfactorily used as a work table or bench box in that it is equipped with availably accessible shelves which are adequately exposed when the box is open and nest together in compact telescoping relationship when the box is closed. The shelves are preferably in the form of trays or pans and any number may be utilized depending, of course, on the size of the box.

This improved box systematically and protectively stores many and different things such as tools, merchandise, fishing tackle and so on. It has but three pieces of hardware; namely, a so-called piano hinge, a suitcase type exterior latch or fastener, desirable in that it can be actuated by a single hand. r The handle is nicely centered and promotes good balance and approved usage. The hinge is vertical and joins the two half-sections of the box together so that they may be swung open or closed in a horizontal plane.

In carrying out a preferred embodiment a box is provided which comprises a pair of similarly constructed hollow coplanar half-sections having like vertical ends joined together by a vertically disposed hinge and opposite like vertical ends provided with readily releasable fastening means, said box being opened by swinging the halfsections apart in a horizontal plane about the vertical axis of said hinge; a balancing and carrying handle is operatively mounted on the central portion of the top of one half section of the box, and novel shelf means is mounted in the hollow interior portion of the box for ready and accessible storage and retention of the miscellaneous contents of the box.

Construed from a different point of view, the invention has to do with a sectional box the sections of which are hollow and vertically hinged to swing horizontally, upper and lower trays arranged in spaced parallelism in one section, and at least one section, the latter tray telescoping into the space between the upper and lower trays, said trays being basically alike in construction and each tray being of a width greater than the depth of the hollow portion of the section in which it is mounted (fixed or removable).

Another object of the invention is to structurally, functionally and otherwise improve upon prior art tool bcxes in that the tray-like shelves are suitably mounted in their respective companion sections, the transverse end portions of the trays which are adjacent to the end opposite the hinge having angled or mitered portions which are so arranged that they do not interfere with the easy opening and closing function of the sections.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view on a small scale of a utility chest or tool box constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention showing, in phantom lines, how the sections may be opened up for accessible use.

FIG. 2 is a cross section, on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal section on the line 33 of FIG. 2.

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are perspective views of the traytype shelves.

As is obvious, the component parts of the over-all chest or box may be constructed of suitable sheet material. The aforementioned half-sections, which are basically alike in construction, are denoted by the numerals 8 and 10, respectively. Each section is hollow and comprises top and bottom walls 12. and 14, transverse end walls 16 and longitudinal side walls 18. The bottom walls of the sections are horizontal and are coplanar and the top walls 12 slant or slope outwardly and downwardly. The transverse end walls are straight across and fiat. The side walls 18 slant inwardly and downwardly or converge in the manner illustrated in FIG. 2. The horizontal junctional portions 20 and 22 between the slanting top walls and converging side walls 18 are progressively angled or sloped as shown to provide a satisfactory connection between the side and top walls. The top and end walls of the open side or face of the section 8 are provided marginally with laterally bent and projecting flanges or beads 24 which telescope into the correspondingly located channel of the channel-shaped flanges 25 on section 10. This interlocking arrangement of flanges provides a satisfactory rigidifying and weatherproofing joint between the sections 8 and iii. At the center of the crest of the over-all top a substantially U-shaped handle 23 is provided and the horizontal end portions thereof are mounted for rotation in suitable bearings 3i) (FIG. 1) provided therefor and the bight portion of the handle has a suitable grip 32. By employing a relatively small handle and centralizing the handle in the manner illustrated the box and the load carried therein is satisfactorily balanced and easy to handle. The transverse end walls at the right hand end in FIG. 1 are joined by way of a vertically disposed piano hinge 34. At the opposite or left hand end a keeper book 36 fixed on the vertical wall of section 8 serves to accommodate a keeper link or clevis which is pivotally mounted, shown on a median part of the pivotaliy mounted finger-piece or lever 4t pivoted on the cooperating vertical wall on section Hi. This type of a so-called letter box lock can be operated with one hand.

in actual practice, any number of horizontal shelves or trays may be utilized. The principle of this aspect of the invention is satisfactorily illustrated here through the use of three trays or shelves. The upper tray 42 is attached, either permanently or removably, to the lengthwise wall 13 of half-section 3 in FIG. 2. It will be noticed that this tray is provided with a lengthwise divider or partition 44 which divides the receptacle portion of the tray into halves one of which is denoted at 46. The other half is, in turn, further divided by transverse or right angularly disposed dividers 48 providing a plurality of compartments 50.

The tray-type shelf in FIG. 5, the center one 5'2, is of similar construction and likewise mounted on the opposed wall 18 on section iii. It has a longitudinal divider 54 which divides the receptacle portion into long cornpartments 56 and 58, respectively. The central lower portion of the divider 54 is cut out to provide a clearance notch 6t) making it possible to place sheets of sandpaper (not shown) in the receptacle portion. The third traytype shelf is denoted by the numeral 62 and is without dividers. The left hand half (FIG. 2) rests atop the underlying bottom iiiof the section 8 and the projecting right hand half-portion is slightly ofi'set to allow the relatively movable bottom wall 14 of section lit to operate freely therebeneath. The left hand end portion of the trays 52 and (Fifi. is the same in construction. That is to say, this end portion has a part 66 which is set in from the adjacent part 63. The right hand end portion (both ends if desired) on each tray has an oblique angle portion, described here as a mitered corner 79. These mitered corners function in the manner best shown at the left in FIG. 3 from which it will be obvious that the angularity is such that the half-sections 8 and It) may be opened and closed while assuring satisfactory clearance. The trays 42 and 52 (FIG. 2) are mounted on the surfaces Zil, 22 and 18, respectively. if desired, the bottom tray 62; may be formed as an integral part of the bottom of the half-section 3. it is important to note that the cross-section of the several trays is such that half-portions of the trays project beyond the open sides of the half-sections and consequently telescope or nest together in the manner illustrated in FIG. 2. Stated otherwise, the transverse cross-section of each tray is greater than the transverse dimension of depth of the half section carrying that particular tray. This staggered arrangement of shelves or trays promotes compactness and convenience while at the same time rendering the articles (tools and other things) in the receptacle portions of the trays readily accessible.

As is no doubt evident, the telescoping shelves or trays bring all of the tools or stored articles and equip ment, the ones that are desired or used often, in view except those which are perhaps best kept out of sight to discourage borrowing or loss. The perimeter cooperating edges of the open sides of the half-sections embody the al'orernenn'oned joint made up of the male and female cooperating flanges, this being a feature of the box. As already mentioned, the slope of the top Walls 12 of the roof of the box is intentional to discourage standing or sitting on the box and the downwardly converging side walls 18 function so that the user may place the box between the legs or, if desired, wedge the box between fixtures on a work bench or the like. In fact, experience has shown that the angles of the side walls function to prevent the box from slipping into the snow or mud when wedged between the legs below the knees, leaving the hands free to open a car or a garage door. This is a feature of the construction which will be greatly appreciated by home servicemen, TV and radio repairmcn, salesmen and others. When the utility chest is fully opened it can be placed against the wall or a work bench requiring little space. The sections may be swung from 0 to 180 degrees or when half open (at 90 degrees) the box may be nicely fitted in a corner in a rowboat and utilized as a tackle box for fishermen.

The shape of the box can range from square to rectangular, to angled, as shown, and from round to oval. Vertical or horizontal shape interior tray-like pans will, of course, conform to any desired shape of ha1f-sections 8 and 19, arranged in staggered positions, and suitably fixed or removable.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. For use by mechanics, repairmen, salesmen, anglers and the like; an article and tool storing and carrying chest comprising a portable box embodying a pair of similarly constructed hollow coplanar one-piece half-sections, each half-section being constructed from sheet material and embodying top, bottom, end and side walls jointed together and denning an open front storage space, said half-sections having like vertical end walls at one end of the box with abutting edges joined together by a vertically disposed hinge, vertical end walls at the other end or" the box being provided with readily releasable fastening means, said box being opened by swinging the half-scotions apart in a horizontal plane about the vertical axis of said hinge, a bail-type hand-grip .hing-edly mounted on the central portion only of the top of one of said halfections, and means located in the hollow portion of said box to accessibly and accommodatingly store tools, equipment and the like, said means embodying horizontally disposed vertically spaced tray-likeshelves one lo cated above the other and having significant portions thereof telescoping into available spaces provided therefor when the half-sections are closed, said shelves being staggered, commensurate in length with the length of the box, each shelf being of a cross-section greater than the cross-sectional depth of the half-section in which it is mounted, whereby an approximate one-half thereof projects through and beyond the open front of the halfsection which carries it and into the other half-section, each shelf embodying an open-top tray.

2. The structure defined in claim 1, and wherein said box, considered as an entity, is rectangular in plan, said shelves being correspondingly rectangular in plan, the transverse ends of the respective shelves adjacent the openabie and closable vertical end of said box being mitercd and providing needed radial clearance relative to the adjacent vertical end walls.

3. For use by mechanics, repairmen, salesmen, anglers and the like; an article and tool storing and carrying utility chest comprising a portable box embodying a pair of similarly constructed hollow coplanar halfsections having like vertical ends joined together by a vertically disposed hinge and opposite like vertical ends provided with readily releasable fastening means, said box being opened by swinging the half-sections apart in a horizontal plane about the vertical axis of said hinge, telescoping shelves mounted in the hollow interior portion of the respective half-sections of said box for ready and accessible storage and retention of the miscellaneous contents of the box, each half-section embodying top, bottom, side and end walls, the top walls of the half-sections being plane and sloping downwardly and outwardly to discourage users from standing and sitting on said box, the side walls of said half-sections being angled and converging downwardly and inwardly toward the bottom of the box and giving the overall box a desired Wedge-shape cross-section and enabling the user to temporarily wedge the box, as an entity, between his legs, leaving his hands free to attend to chores such as opening a door and so on, and a carrying handle hingedly mounted on a top wall of one half-section, the hinge-points of said handle being spaced inwardly from the respective end walls of the overall box, whereby the position of the carrying handle is about midway between the respective vertical ends of said box.

4. For use by mechanics, repairmen, salesmen, anglers and the like; an article and tool storing and carrying utility chest comprising a portable box embodying a pair of similarly constructed hollow coplanar half-sections having like vertical ends joined together by a vertically disposed hinge and opposite like vertical ends provided with readily releasable fastening means, said box being opened by swinging the half-sections apart in a horizontal plane about the vertical axis of said hinge, each half-section embodying top horizontal and bottom walls, and vertical side and end Walls, the top walls of the respective half-sections being plane and sloping downwardly and outwardly to discourage users from standing and sitting on said box, the side walls of said half-sections being disposed longitudinally, angled inwardly and converging downwardly and toward the complete bottom of the box and giving the overall box a desired wedge-shape cross-section and en abling the user to temporarily wedge the box, as an entity, between his legs, leaving his hands free to attend to chores such as opening a door and so on, a carrying handle hingedly mounted on a top wall of one half-section, both bottom walls of said half-sections being in a common plane, at least one tray-type bottom shelf having a one-half portion thereof telescoping into the lower half portion of one-half section and fixed securely with a portion of its bottom fixed atop the underlying bottom wall and the other half portion telescoping in a similar manner into the opposed lower hollow portion of the other half-section, said other half-portion having its bottom offset upwardly and clearing and not connected with the underlying bottom of the last-named half-section and providing a lengthwise guide and stabilizing arrangement which assists in the opening and closing steps of the halfsections.

5. The structure defined in claim 4 and wherein the opposed open front portions of the respective half-sections have confronting and abutting marginal edge portions, certain of said edge portions having interconnecting male and female flanges which function to provide a substantially weather tight joint between the half sections when they are closed and which further contributes to the overall stability and rigidity of the box.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 253,609 Johnston Feb. 14, 1882 258,604- Richardson May 30, 1882 469,987 Whiting Mar. 1, 1892 825,177 Bales July 3, 1906 585,831 Sherman July 2, 1907 1,060,087 fieisler Apr. 29, 1913 1,784,518 Gillooly Dec. 9, 1.930 1,926,162 Moberly Sept. 12, 1933 2,135,238 Malik Nov. 1, 1938 2,258,344 Walker Oct. 7, 1941 2,588,957 Brown Mar. 11, 1952 

